The Obama Experiment

It’s Democrats Vs. Democrats That Really Worries Obama And DNC

CNN: “White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that he thinks the anger some of the congressmen have experienced is manufactured.”(Kristi Keck, Mark Preston and Paul Steinhauser, “Democrats Say Republicans Staging Town Hall Protests Story Highlights,” CNN, 8/5/09)

AS CANDIDATE, OBAMA ENCOURAGED ANGER AND AGGRESSION AMONG HIS SUPPORTERS

During Campaign, Obama Encouraged Supporters To Be Aggressive With Republicans. “I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face.” (Senator Barack Obama, Campaign Remarks in Elko, Nevada, 9/17/08)

AS PRESIDENT, OBAMA DIDN’T MIND WHEN HIS SUPPORTERS WERE PACKING TOWN HALLS

In Recent Obama Town Hall, In-Person Questioners Were Plants From Pro-Obama Groups And Video Questions Were Hand Selected By Obama Staffers. “The questions posed from social media networks were selected by White House staffers, and the three people he called on from the audience all were affiliated with advocacy groups that support Obama. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs defended the event beforehand, saying the questions posed reflected ‘a representative sample of the issues.’ Smith said the White House invited her to attend after she had spoken at events for Organizing for America, an Obama grass-roots operation at the Democratic National Committee. Another questioner said he worked for Health Care for America Now, and the third identified herself as a member of the Service Employees International Union.”  (Susan Page, “Obama Takes Health Care Pitch To Virginia,” USA Today, 7/2/09)

ONLY ANGER BEING MANUFACTURED ARE DEMS RUNNING ADS AGAINST OTHER DEMS

MoveOn.org Attacking Blue Dogs. “MoveOn.org is on the radio, airing ads in the districts of three other conservative Blue Dogs who voted against the Energy and Commerce reform measure — Reps. John Barrow (Ga.), Jim Matheson (Utah) and Charlie Melancon (La.).” (Ben Pershing, “Groups Take Health-Reform Debate To Airwaves,” The Washington Post, 8/5/09)

Obama Campaign Operation Targeting Dem Senators With TV Ads. “A wing of the DNC announced this week that it would launch a new television ad to press Democratic senators from Arkansas, Indiana, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, Nebraska and Ohio. The ad, funded by … a wing of the DNC that was formed from the grass-roots operation of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, urges senators to back an overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system.” (Alexander Bolton, “Reid Calls DNC Healthcare Ads ‘Waste Of Money,’” The Hill, 7/16/09)

Democratic Strategist’s Group Smearing Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE). “When Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) called the public plan a deal breaker, a progressive group co-founded by Joe Trippi launched a campaign in Nebraska accusing the senator of being a ’sellout’ for special interests …” (Carrie Budoff Brown, “Dems Vs. Dems On Health Bill,” Politico, 6/11/09)

Group Founded By Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean Also Attacking Nelson As “Corrupt.”. “Liberal activists have significantly ratcheted up their brewing fight with centrist Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who will be a pivotal vote in the Senate’s healthcare reform debate. A liberal activist working with an advocacy group founded by former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean has attacked Nelson as ‘bought and paid for by health and insurance interests’ and suggested he is ‘corrupt’ and ‘out of touch.’” (Alexander Bolton, “Nelson, Liberals Escalate Feud,” The Hill, 8/3/09)

Howard Dean’s Political Group Teams With Left-Wing Organization To Target Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT). “[A]n ad will begin airing in Montana charging Baucus with choosing monied interests over average voters who want the public insurance option … Charles Chamberlain, political director of Democracy for America … [said,] ‘We consider the public option the core of any real reform here. We are going to make sure voters in Montana know Baucus is standing with insurance companies, rather than with Barack Obama.’ The push by Democracy for America and PCCC is the latest escalation in the Democrat versus Democrat ad wars over health care reform.” (Carrie Budoff Brown, “Left Targets Baucus On Public Option,” Politico, 7/21/09)

Liberal Organizations Joins Unions In Running Ads Pressuring Blue Dog Democrats. “Healthy Economy Now is an ‘odd bedfellows’ coalition – increasingly common on the health care scene. Its members … [include] Families USA and the Service Employees International Union. This is the third ad the coalition has released in an ad buy that has totaled more than $12 million… The goal of the ads is to press the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, who have been snarling about the cost of a health care overhaul and other issues, to support the House bill. The ad urges people to call congressmen who have expressed reservations to ask them to support the legislation.” (Andrew Villegas, “Ad Audit: If,” Kaiser Health News, 7/21/09)

Hey Democrats, They’re Called The American People

Former Obama Supporter, Chris Ann Cleland Of Virginia, Feels Betrayed: “The coffee was still brewing when Chris Ann Cleland got her first reminder of the day that voting for Barack Obama might have been a mistake … broken promises of a president who she thought would be different … ‘He’s just not as advertised,’ she said. ‘Nothing’s changed for the common guy. I feel like I’ve been punked.’” (Sandhya Somashekhar, “Is Race For Governor More About Obama?” The Washington Post, 8/5/09)

DO DEMS THINK AMERICANS LIKE CLELAND ARE EXTREMISTS?

DNC Running Ad Smearing Americans Concerned About Obama’s Agenda As “Angry … Rabid … Extremists.” “The Democratic National Committee will amplify its charge that Republicans are responsible for ‘inciting angry mobs of a small number of rabid right wing extremists … to disrupt’ town hall meetings in a new 65 second Web video that will release Wednesday morning.” (Mark Preston, “Democrats Accuse GOP Of Inciting Mobs,” CNN’s “Political Ticker” Blog, 8/5/09)

No Wonder Democrats Are Smearing Americans – They Read The Headlines:

• “CNN Poll: Americans Split On Obama’s Health Care Proposals” (Paul Steinhauser, CNN’s “PoliticalTicker” Blog, 8/5/09)

• “Poll Shows Perils for Obama’s Health Overhaul” (Peter Brown, The Wall Street Journal’s “Capital Journal” Blog, 8/5/09)

• “New Poll Finds Growing Unease On Health Plan” (Adam Nagourney and Megan Thee-Brenan, The New York Times, 7/30/09)

• “Support Slips For Health Plan” (Laura Meckler, The Wall Street Journal, 7/30/09)

• “Benefits Of Healthcare Reform A Tough Sell For Americans” (Frank Newport, Gallup, 7/29/09)

• “Health-Care Poll: Americans Back Reform But Worry About Details” (Michael Scherer, Time, 7/29/09)

• “WSJ/NBC Poll: Americans Divided On Health Care Reform” (Susan Davis, The Wall Street Journal’s “Washington Wire” Blog, 7/29/09)

“SMALL NUMBER OF RIGHT WING EXTREMISTS” BY THE NUMBERS

CNN Poll: 71 Percent Of Americans Say They Are Likely To Attend Town Hall Meeting To Tell Their Congressman Their Opinions On Health Care. (CNN-Opinion Research Corporation Poll, Conducted July 31-August 3, 2009, 8/5/09)

Quinnipiac Poll: Three Out Of Every Four Americans Don’t Believe Government-Run Health Care Will Be Deficit-Neutral, As Obama Promised. “[T]he Quinnipiac national poll – with an unusually large sample of more than 2,000 interviews – found that almost three in four Americans don’t believe Mr. Obama’s promise that any health reform that he signs will not add to the federal deficit.” (Peter Brown, “Poll Shows Perils For Obama’s Health Overhaul,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Capital Journal” Blog, 8/5/09)

• 59 Percent Of Americans Against Health Care Reform Only Supported By Democrats. “The poll also contains another piece of the public opinion puzzle that Mr. Obama and the Democratic congressional leadership may find problematic: Voters by a large margin don’t want a health care overhaul if it can only garner Democratic votes. In other words, even though Democrats control both houses of Congress, voters are suspicious of a bill that only has Democratic support. The poll found 59% of the public disagreed (and only 36% agreed) with the following statement: ‘Congress should approve a health care overhaul even if only Democrats support it.’” (Peter Brown, “Poll Shows Perils For Obama’s Health Overhaul,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Capital Journal” Blog, 8/5/09)

Gallup Poll: 63 Percent Say Obama’s Plan Will Worsen Or Not Change Medical Care For Them Personally. (Frank Newport, “Benefits of Healthcare Reform a Tough Sell for Americans,” Gallup, 7/29/09)

National Public Radio Poll: 47 Percent Oppose Obama’s Plan Vs. 42 Percent Supporting It. “When asked about the plan now moving through Congress, a plurality of 47 percent was opposed and 42 percent said they were in favor, based on what they had heard about the plan so far.” (Mara Liasson, “NPR Poll Finds Tough Sledding For Obama,” NPR, 7/29/09)

• Similar Results From Pew Research Center: 44 Percent Oppose Obama’s Plan Vs. 38 Percent Supporting It. “By a 44% to 38% margin, more Americans generally oppose than favor the health care proposals now before Congress. Opposition rises to 56% among people who say they have heard a lot about legislation to overhaul the health care system.” (”Obama’s Rating Slide Across The Board,” Pew Research Center, 7/30/09)

New York Times/CBS News Poll: 77 Percent Of Americans Fear Costs Will Increase Under Government-Run Health Care. “77 percent said they were concerned that the cost of health care would go up if the government did create … a [new health care] system.” (Adam Nagourney and Megan Thee-Brenan, “New Poll Finds Growing Unease On Health Plan,” The New York Times, 7/29/09)

Time Poll: 56 Percent Fear Losing Freedom To Choose Their Own Doctor, Plan Under Government-Run Health Care. “By significant margins, survey respondents said they believe the final health-reform legislation is likely to raise health-care costs in the long run (62%), make everything about health care more complicated (65%) and offer less freedom to choose doctors and coverage (56%).” (Michael Scherer, “TIME Health-Care Poll: Americans Back Reform But Worr y About Details,” Time, 7/29/09)

Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll: 42 Percent Say Obama’s Plan Is “Bad Idea,” Vs. 36 Percent Saying It’s “Good Idea.” “In mid-June, respondents were evenly divided when asked whether they thought Mr. Obama’s health plan was a good or bad idea. In the new poll, conducted July 24-27, 42% called it a bad idea while 36% said it was a good idea.” (Laura Meckler, “Support Slips For Health Plan,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/30/09)

Americans Don’t Approve Of Obama’s Stimulus, Handling Of Economy. “The public also has concerns with the progress of the $787 billion economic stimulus that Obama signed into law in February. In the poll, 43 percent believe the legislation was a bad idea, up 16 points since January. Just 34 percent say the stimulus was a good idea.” (Mark Murray, “Poll: Obama Loses Ground On Health Care,” MSNBC, 7/29/09)

• Plurality Of Americans Believe Obama’s Economic Policies Are Failing To End Recession Or Slow Job Losses. “In another part of the poll, respondents were asked which of two statements on the economy came closer to expressing their view. The first statement: ‘President Obama’s economic policies helped avert an even worse crisis and are laying the foundation for our eventual economic recovery.’ The second statement: ‘President Obama’s economic policies have run up a record federal deficit while failing to end the recession or slow the record pace of job losses.’ A plurality preferred the second statement, 48 percent to 45 percent.” (Mara Liasson, “NPR Poll Finds Tough Sledding For Obama,” NPR, 7/29/09)

We Answer The White House’s Call For “Disinformation” On Government-Run Health Care

THE WHITE HOUSE’S BLOG: “There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care … Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”(Macon Phillips, “Facts Are Stubborn Things,” The White House’s “Briefing Room” Blog, 8/4/09)

WE FOUND FISHY CLAIMS ABOUT KEEPING YOUR DOCTOR AND YOUR INSURANCE PLAN …

“If you have insurance that you like, then you will be able to keep that insurance. If you’ve got a doctor that you like, you will be able to keep your doctor.” http://tinyurl.com/mj5od2

“If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what.” http://tinyurl.com/mzkrz9

AND FISHY CLAIMS ABOUT SO-CALLED “PUBLIC PLAN” AND CONSUMER CHOICE …

“Now, the public plan I think is a important tool to discipline insurance companies. What we’ve said is, under our proposal, let’s have a system the same way that federal employees do, same way that members of Congress do, where — we call it an ‘exchange,’ or you can call it a ‘marketplace’ — where essentially you’ve got a whole bunch of different plans.” http://tinyurl.com/krmgqn

“That’s why I’ve said that I think a public option would make sense. What that then does is, it gives people a choice … You don’t have to do anything. But if you don’t have health insurance, then you have an option available to you.” http://tinyurl.com/moq36h

AND A FISHY CLAIM ABOUT KEEPING HEALTH CARE COSTS DOWN …

“What I’ve said is our top priority has to be to control costs… And I’ve said very clearly: If any bill arrives from Congress that is not controlling costs, that’s not a bill I can support. It’s going to have to control costs. It’s going to have to be paid for.” http://tinyurl.com/krmgqn

AND A FISHY CLAIM ABOUT TAXING MIDDLE CLASS

“And while they’re [Congress] currently working through proposals to finance the remaining costs, I continue to insist that health care reform not be paid for on the backs of middle-class families.” http://tinyurl.com/lkvgsp

So to help the surely inundated White House, we’ve already debunked these “fishy” statements at BarackObamaExperiment.com.

FAR-LEFT SMEARS DEM SENATORS AS “CORRUPT” FOR OPPOSING HEALTH CARE EXPERIMENT

Group Founded By Former DNC Chair Howard Dean Continues Attacks On Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE). “Liberal activists have significantly ratcheted up their brewing fight with centrist Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who will be a pivotal vote in the Senate’s healthcare reform debate. A liberal activist working with an advocacy group founded by former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean has attacked Nelson as ‘bought and paid for by health and insurance interests’ and suggested he is ‘corrupt’ and ‘out of touch …’ Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), made the charges in a scathing statement that said Nelson ‘feels perfectly comfortable lying to his constituents’ if he continues to object to a liberal TV ad criticizing him.’” (Alexander Bolton, “Nelson, Liberals Escalate Feud,” The Hill, 8/3/09)

Dem Lawmaker Accuses Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) Of Sabotaging Government-Run Health Care Plan. “Beyond the Blue Dogs, progressives also had concerns about Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) attempting to strip the public insurance option — a must for House liberals — from the bill … some Members worried Baucus is being influenced by insurance companies to gut that provision. ‘The feeling is, he’s working to subvert the bill,’ said one lawmaker. ‘Somebody’s got to raise the question about “pay to play” here at some point. I mean, it’s like what the hell is going on here.’” (Jennifer Bendery, “Liberals Raise Concerns Over Blue Dog, Baucus Efforts On Health Bill,” Roll Call, 7/28/09)

SENATE DEMS VS. SENATE DEMS ON GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF HEALTH INSURANCE

Sen. Kent Conrad Supporting Co-Ops, Says So-Called “Public Option” Does Not Have Votes To Pass Senate. “Under the Finance Committee proposal, co-ops could form on the state, regional and national level. If one state lacks a co-op, adjoining states could move in and offer one. There could be a national co-op as well, but it would need to be licensed in every state, Conrad said. ‘There are not the votes for the public option in the U.S. Senate,’ Conrad said in an interview Saturday. ‘My grandmother said you can curse the darkness, or light the candle. You can wish and hope and push for something that according to every vote count will not get enough votes in the U.S. Senate. That was the reason I was asked to come up with the alternative.’” (Carrie Budoff Brown and Patrick O’Connor, “Senate Dems Spar Over Public Plan,” Politico, 8/2/09)

But Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) Says He Will Block Co-Ops In Finance Committee. “[I]nternal clashes about the government insurance option have begun to spill into the open — as Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) has gone public with his case against consumer-owned health care cooperatives, which are viewed as a compromise between progressives who want a public competitor to private insurers and Republicans who don’t want a new government plan. ‘I will be darned if I support or allow to move forward — to the extent that I can make a noise about it — something which sounds user-friendly,’ Rockefeller said in an interview. ‘What I have to worry about is, are co-ops going to be effective taking on these gigantic insurance companies? And from everything I know from people who represent them, the answer is a flat “no.”’” (Carrie Budoff Brown and Patrick O’Connor, “Senate Dems Spar Over Public Plan,” Politico, 8/2/09)

Rockefeller Considering “Reconciliation” Procedure To Rush Government-Run Health Care Through Senate. “At some point, one side is going to have to give in — or walk, forcing Democratic congressional leaders to use a procedural maneuver known as reconciliation. It would allow Democrats to pass a bill in the Senate with a simple majority, rather than with the 60-vote, filibuster-proof threshold. ‘If it is a choice between getting a good health care bill and doing it in reconciliation, I will take that in a shot,’ Rockefeller said. ‘What I don’t like is no result. And if it takes more time to get a result — even if has to be done through reconciliation as a last resort — don’t think I am going to lose sleep over that.’” (Carrie Budoff Brown and Patrick O’Connor, “Senate Dems Spar Over Public Plan,” Politico, 8/2/09)